


a disappearance, gathering weight

by BonesOfBirdWings



Category: Joker Game (Anime)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Coda to Episode 11, Ghosts, M/M, Or maybe not ghosts, Take it as you will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 15:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7273861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BonesOfBirdWings/pseuds/BonesOfBirdWings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the sun rises, he will be gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a disappearance, gathering weight

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to your funeral,” Sakuma says, staring blankly at the ceiling. On his bedside table, his watch methodically counts the seconds. “I heard it was very beautiful.”

“I suppose it was,” replies Miyoshi. Blood soaks the front of his white linen shirt. “I’ve never been a good judge of funerals.”

“Neither have I.” Sakuma turns his head to look out the window. Across the street, a lone figure sways drunkenly as he stumbles down the road. Light from an open window glints off the glass bottle he has clutched in his hands. It gleams a dull amber.

“We wondered, you know,” Miyoshi says after a long moment. “If there was anything... well, if you –”

“Is this really what you want to talk about?” Sakuma interrupts. “You don’t have a lot of time.”

Miyoshi huffs. “And what should I talk about?”

With a groan, Sakuma sits up and kicks off his sheets, settling himself on the edge of his bed. “Whatever you want. This is your time.”

“Are you always so nice, Sakuma-san?”

Sakuma shrugs. “There’s no point in being cruel, is there? Any weakness I reveal, any secret I betray, dies with you.”

“I’m already dead,” Miyoshi states. There is no emotion in the words. His mouth twitches – Sakuma isn’t sure if he’s suppressing a frown or a smile.

“You are,” Sakuma agrees.

The drunkard outside smashes the bottle against the wall of a nearby building. It shatters, orange shards catching the light for a brief moment before disappearing into shadow.

“How long do I have?” Miyoshi finally asks.

“Sunrise.”

Miyoshi hums. “A handful of hours, then.”

“Not long,” Sakuma affirms.

Miyoshi shrugs, a graceful movement of his shoulders. “Longer than I thought I’d have.”

“I suppose so.”

The drunkard is trying to sweep up the shards of his bottle into his hands. The frame of the window casts strange shadows on the ground. The man’s shoulders shake, like he’s crying.

“I knew,” Miyoshi says. Sakuma finally turns to look at him. He’s paler than Sakuma remembers, the bags under his eyes a little darker. He’s not looking at Sakuma, but instead staring past him, out the window. “It was comforting, in a way.”

“Death can be.”

Miyoshi slants a glance at Sakuma. A familiar smirk curls his lips. “Not quite what I meant.”

“Colonel Yuuki said that you died smiling.”

“Was that a comfort to you?”

“Yes,” Sakuma admits. “I’m glad you were happy.”

“You’re much more open than usual, Sakuma-san,” Miyoshi says, turning from the window to settle on the opposite side of Sakuma’s bed. “And I didn’t think you cared that much.”

“In a few hours,” Sakuma replies after a moment, “you’ll be gone.”

“Yes,” Miyoshi agrees.

Outside, the man slumps against the wall, holding his fingers up to the light streaming from the window. They’re slick with blood.

“You left for your mission in the late hours of the night,” Sakuma breathes, not daring to look at the other man. “Just slipped out of bed. I... I would have....”

“What?” Miyoshi snaps. “Would have begged me not to go?”

Sakuma chuckles. There’s no humor in the sound. “Of course not.”

“Then what?”

Sakuma shrugs, staring down at the sheets. “I would have liked to say goodbye.”

Miyoshi laughs. “Is that your one regret?”

“Not by far,” Sakuma admits, but he doesn’t elaborate.

Miyoshi studies him for a long moment. “You couldn’t have done anything,” he finally says. “It was chance, a freak accident. Could have happened to anyone.”

Sakuma says nothing.

“Virtually painless too,” Miyoshi continues.

“I thought you were supposed to be a good liar,” Sakuma says, glancing briefly at Miyoshi.

“It’s too nice of a lie,” Miyoshi replies with the ghost of a smile. “It’s harder to sell those.”

Across the street, the man has resumed his search for the bottle fragments. He’s on his hands and knees, still swaying with drink. He pauses to retch, his body shaking with the force of it.

“Did you mourn for me?” Miyoshi whispers. Sakuma turns to stare at him, but his gaze is fixed on the drunk man.

Sakuma is silent as he studies him, the restless movement of his graceful fingers, the curve of his lips, the slant of his nose. “Of course,” he breathes helplessly. “Of course I did.”

“I knew,” Miyoshi repeats quietly, still not looking at Sakuma. “Darkness and solitude – I knew I’d die alone.”

“Did that make it easier?”

“It should have,” Miyoshi says.

The drunkard collapses on the ground, his arms giving out from under him. His hair shines dully in the light from the window. A couple of paces from him, there is a glint of amber in the dirt.

“You were smiling,” Sakuma says. It’s not quite a protest, something less than a plea.

“As you said.” Miyoshi smiles, a small, broken thing. “I’m a good liar.”

The man laboriously pushes himself up to his knees again. The front of his shirt is dark with some sort of liquid. He reaches out for the amber gleam, his arm trembling.

“You’re not alone now,” Sakuma whispers.

“Am I not?” Miyoshi replies. “In a few hours, I’ll be gone.”

“You will. But until then....” Sakuma trails off, tentatively reaching out a hand across the bed.

“Yes,” Miyoshi agrees, turning from the window, and, after a moment, grasping Sakuma’s hand in his own. Miyoshi’s skin is pale and thin, cold as ice. “Until then.”

Outside, the drunkard closes his hand around the piece of glass. It stabs his palm, but he cradles it close. He sobs in relief. On the horizon, there is the barest touch of light.

**Author's Note:**

> Here are all my painful Episode 11 feels. I was going to write something that was cute about like, Sakuma being able to see ghosts and Miyoshi comes back and D-Agency has ghost shenanigans. BUT NO. YOU GET THIS INSTEAD.
> 
> I have a [tumblr](http://flightofmorning.tumblr.com/)~


End file.
